Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Case for Rethinking Multimedia

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Learning: Design, Engagement and Definition

  • 990 Accesses

Abstract

As the online delivery of instructional content continues to expand, the need for theoretically based, empirically proven guidance on the design of online presentations has also grown. This chapter addresses the origins of popular conventions surrounding presentation design practices, then questions those assumptions through an examination of recent theoretical developments in multimedia theory. After a review of the literature and relevant empirical results, this research finds reasons to question the broad usage of Mayer’s Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and calls for additional research targeted toward specific audiences within modern distance learning environments.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, R. C. (1977). The notion of schemata and the educational enterprise. In R. C. Anderson, R. J. Spiro, & W. E. Montauge (Eds.), Schooling and the acquisition of knowledge. Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, R. C., & Shiffrin, R. M. (1968). Human memory: A proposed system and its control processes. In K. W. Spence & J. T. Spence (Eds.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 2, pp. 89–195). Academic Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1991). Cognitive load theory and the format of instruction. Cognition and Instruction, 8(4), 293–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1992). The split-attention effect as a factor in the design of instruction. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 62, 233–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Jong, T. (2010). Cognitive load theory, educational research, and instructional design: Some food for thought. Instructional Science, 38(2), 105–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derry, S. J. (1992). Beyond symbolic processing: Expanding horizons for educational psychology. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84(4), 413–418.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fleming, M., & Levie, W. H. (1978). Instructional message design: Principles from the behavioral sciences. Educational Technology Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greeno, J. G. (1989). Situations, mental models, and generative knowledge. In D. Klahr & K. Kotovsky (Eds.), Complex information processing: The impact of Herbert A. Simon (pp. 285–318). Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jeung, H., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1997). The role of visual indicators in dual sensory mode instruction. Educational Psychology, 17, 329–343.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Laird, P. N. (1983). Mental models: Towards a cognitive science of language, inference, and consciousness. Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalyuga, S., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1999). Managing split-attention and redundancy in multimedia instruction. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 13, 351–371.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kroll, N. E. A., Parkinson, S. R., & Parks, T. E. (1972). Sensory and active storage of compound visual and auditory stimuli. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 95, 32–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leahy, W., & Sweller, J. (2011). Cognitive load theory, modality of presentation, and the transient information effect. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25, 943–951.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marcer, D. (1967). The effect of presentation method on short-term recall of CCC trigrams. Psychonomic Science, 8, 335–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (1989). Systematic thinking fostered by illustrations in scientific text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 240–246.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2002). Multimedia learning. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 41, 85–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2005). Cognitive theory of multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 201–212). Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2014). Multimedia instruction. In J. Michael Spector, M. David Merrill, E. Jan, & M. J. Bishop (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 385–399). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E. (2017). Using multimedia for e-learning. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 33, 403–423.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1991). Animations need narrations: An experimental test of a dual-coding hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 484–490.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1992). The instructive animation: Helping students build connections between words and pictures in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 84, 444–452.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., Bove, W., Bryman, A., Mars, R., & Tapangco, L. (1996). When less is more: Meaningful learning from visual and verbal summaries of science textbook lessons. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(1), 64–73.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Fiorella, L. (2014). Principles for reducing extraneous processing in multimedia learning: Coherence, signaling, redundancy, spatial contiguity, and temporal contiguity principles. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 279–315). Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Gallini, J. (1990). When is an illustration worth ten thousand words? Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 715–726.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Johnson, C. I. (2008). Revising the redundancy principle in multimedia learning. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100(2), 380–386.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Mathias, A. (2001, April). Static and interactive pretraining that reduces cognitive load during multimedia learning. Paper presented at the annual convention of the American Educational Research Association, Seattle, WA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (1998). A split-attention effect in multimedia learning: Evidence for dual processing systems in working memory. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 312–320.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McLaren, B. M., DeLeeuw, K. E., & Mayer, R. E. (2011). A politeness effect in learning with web-based intelligent tutors. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 69(1–2), 70–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, G. A. (1956). The magical number seven, plus or minus two: Some limits on our capacity to process information. Psychological Review, 63(2), 81–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (1999). Cognitive principles of multimedia learning: The role of modality and contiguity. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91(2), 358–368.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moreno, R., & Mayer, R. E. (2002). Verbal redundancy in multimedia learning: When reading helps listening. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94(1), 156–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mousavi, S. Y., Low, R., & Sweller, J. (1995). Reducing cognitive load by mixing auditory and visual presentation modes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 87, 319–334.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: A dual-coding approach. Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Penney, C. G. (1975). Modality effects in short-term verbal memory. Psychological Bulletin, 82(1), 68–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reiser, R. A., & Gagné, R. M. (1983). Selecting media for instruction. Educational Technology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, D., Harbour, W., Johnston, C. S., & Abarbanell, L. (2006). Universal design for learning in postsecondary education: Reflections on principles and their application. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 19(2), 135–151.

    Google Scholar 

  • Savoji, A. P., Hassanabadi, H., & Fasihipour, Z. (2011). The modality effect in learner-paced multimedia learning. Procedia – Social and Behavioral Sciences, 30, 1488–1493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scarborough, D. L. (1972). Stimulus modality effects on forgetting in short-term memory. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 95, 285–289.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweller, J. (1988). Cognitive load during problem solving: Effects on learning. Cognitive Science, 12, 257–285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sweller, J. (2005). The redundancy principle in multimedia learning. In R. E. Mayer (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning (pp. 159–168). Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Tabbers, H. K., Martens, R. L., & van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2004). Multimedia instructions and cognitive load theory: Effects of modality and cueing. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 71–81.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tindall-Ford, S., Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1997). When two sensory modes are better than one. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 3(4), 257–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toh, S. C., Munassar, W. A. S., & Yahaya, W. A. J. W. (2010). Redundancy effect in multimedia learning: A closer look. In Proceedings of ASCILITE – Australian Society for Computers in Learning in Tertiary Education Annual Conference 2010, pp. 988–998.

    Google Scholar 

  • van den Broek, G. S. E., Segers, E., & Verhoeven, L. (2014). Effects of text modality in multimedia presentations on written and oral performance. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 30(5), 438–449.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, N., Johnson, W. L., Mayer, R. E., Rizzo, P., Shaw, E., & Collins, H. (2008). The politeness effect: Pedagogical agents and learning outcomes. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 66, 98–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Hal Hinderliter

Authors
  1. Hal Hinderliter
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hal Hinderliter .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. College of Design, University of Minnesota, Saint Paul, MN, USA

    Brad Hokanson

  2. Learning Design and Technology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA

    Marisa Exter

  3. Graduate Programs Office, Kent State University, Kent, OH, USA

    Amy Grincewicz

  4. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Matthew Schmidt

  5. Instruction Curriculum Leadership, University of Memphis, Memphis, TN, USA

    Andrew A. Tawfik

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Hinderliter, H. (2021). The Case for Rethinking Multimedia. In: Hokanson, B., Exter, M., Grincewicz, A., Schmidt, M., Tawfik, A.A. (eds) Learning: Design, Engagement and Definition. Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85078-4_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-85078-4_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-85077-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-85078-4

  • eBook Packages: EducationEducation (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation